Easter Extravaganza

(WARNING! this might be my biggest post EVER! One day we'll have a computer that is "Picasa compatible" but until that day....giant posts like these are bound to show up!)

Our Easter last year was so low key. I think we ate frozen dinners, and not a single basket was in sight....this year was the exact opposite!

The celebrations started on Saturday at the annual San Mateo City Easter Egg Hunt in Central Park. After a quiet morning stroll to the park, we took one look at the baseball field full of eggs and the line of kids waiting with baskets in hand and thought that we might have made the wrong choice. I had visions of Ezra being trampled in the scramble, or sitting in a sad little heap sobbing while older kids snagged the egg he was toddling his fastest to get to!

Luckily, the city had thought ahead and planned a special "mini" egg hunt for toddlers 0-3. We laughed so hard when we saw this egg hunt...it was literally a pen full of babies running around, picking up eggs (and stealing them from other babies' baskets) while volunteers walked around frantically sprinkling more eggs into the grass...trying to keep up with the demand. The BEST part of the whole affair though was the THRONGS of parents and grandparents surrounding this area with video recorders, digital camera's and cell phones. Tal and I parked our stroller in the mix and plunged head long into the baby bonanza.

Ezra seemed to really like discovering eggs, but after a while he spent his time trying to spot the best Easter basket and then making his way over to examine it. He saw a little girl painting at a craft station and without being prompted he followed her lead. WOW! Who knew Ezra could use sponge paints? =)

We spent some time at the puppet show.

And then enjoyed breakfast, alfresco

Ezra was so excited to find his friend Cache in the crowd! They ran together...

inspected a big wheel for a bit (like true Harley Davidson enthusiasts!)...

and then played on the playground together. What a fun morning!

After nap time, Ezra reaaaaaally wanted to open the box from his grandparents.

Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Allie, Aunt Erin and Uncle Matt spoiled this little boy rotten!! He went nuts trying to look at everything all at once! The fish bank was adopted as a new best friend (even though he now resides on a shelf) and the cars had to be opened right away!!

He played and played and played with his new cars!

You would think after all of this celebrating and ALL of this LOOT our Easter would be over...but no! Talin and I had planned an egg hunt too. =)

So, first thing on Sunday morning, Ezra woke up to a house full of Easter eggs....again.....

He dutifully gathered and collected...for a bit...and then he looked at us like, "so are we done here?"

He decided to just sit and eat the cheddar bunnies he'd found in the eggs while playing with his new Easter toys...

I think we ALL might have gone a little overboard this year. =)

Talin got to go on an Easter hunt too...but he was hunting for something different! =) Ezra was a good little helper. He searched and searched for all of the Coke minis and sweetarts right along side Daddy.

After a fabulous conference Sunday we packed up and ate dinner with friends. It was so great to sit and enjoy each other's company around the table. NONE of the pictures from dinner turned out. I guess it's time for a new camera!

Sooooo...you would think that we're done celebrating at this point...right? NO! On Monday a package from Grandma and Grandpa Berg arrived....

and they ALSO spoiled Ezra rotten!

His favorite new friend in this package was a fluffy gray bunny that he carried around like a newborn kitten!

We tried our best to get him to wear the Easter Bunny ears...to no avail. We got this shot by Tal shoving them onto his head right as I shouted EZRA and clicked the shutter....don't you love his stunned "huh" look?

Talin, on the other hand, wore them proudly! HA! =)

We had a FABULOUS Easter! We couldn't be more grateful for family and friends that make our lives so wonderful!